


꽃갈피 (let me breathe)

by jaeminsna (mochamilk)



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Alternate Universe - Flower Shop, Angst, Anxiety, Depression, Homophobia, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Panic Attacks, no violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-08
Updated: 2018-08-31
Packaged: 2019-06-23 19:16:36
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,643
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15613134
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mochamilk/pseuds/jaeminsna
Summary: He’s twenty years old, sharing an apartment with an eighteen year old; he just recently broke up with his boyfriend that he was once in love with, and the flower shop employee that he thought was cute has actually turned out to be a homophobic asshole that won’t let himbreathe.Donghyuck really is just trying his best.





	1. i.

**Author's Note:**

> it’s crazy how much a person’s writing can improve within a month.
> 
> warnings;  
> -this fic includes a main character that showcases homophobic behavior. none of it is shown through verbal or nonverbal violence, and is rather mild, but still very noticeable on purpose.  
> -donghyuck deals with anxiety disorder that trickles into depression. he gets very close to having a panic attack in the first chapter, so this is a tw.
> 
> for reference, 00 line are in their sophomore year of college, mark + yukhei in their third year, and jisung + chenle are freshmen!

 

 

The first time he comes in, he buys a small bouquet of baby’s breath flowers.

“For my mom,” he says, lips pulled into a nervous smile.

“That’s so kind,” Mark expresses as he’s wrapping the bouquet with sheer pink paper, movements careful and practiced. He ties it off with a thin white ribbon and gingerly hands it to the customer. “I bet she’ll love them.”

The boy’s cheeks turn pink. “Yeah. Hopefully.”

 

 

Donghyuck had kept the baby’s breath flowers in a makeshift vase in his room and stared at them for an entire week after his visit to the flower shop. They weren’t really for his mom, he had just gone inside of the shop to check it out, but later felt pressured to buy something. So he ended up with them.

Seeing the flowers next to his windowsill had made him think of the cute employee and his pretty hands. Donghyuck had often found himself daydreaming about him; in the middle of reading or attempting to fall asleep at night.

The flowers died within eight days.

 

 

It’s a gloomy Friday evening, weeks after the flowers were thrown into the trash, and Donghyuck is sitting on the couch reading his book. He can hear Jisung blasting music in his room and feel the light thumping of the younger’s feet against the floor.

He reads the rest of the passage that he’s on and sets his book face-down onto the table, slowly getting up to his feet. He shrugs on his coat, messily forces his feet into his converses, and leaves.

 

 

The quiet chime of the bell as the shop door opens startles Mark. He was struggling to stay awake as he stared out of the window with heavy-lidded eyes, vision sloping over grey clouds and wet sidewalks.

The customer is a boy with dark brown hair and glasses, wrapped up in a blue buttoned coat. He looks slightly familiar.

This time, Donghyuck carefully picks out four cape jasmines and three orange mini-carnations to mix. He walks up to the counter and asks for them to be wrapped in sunflower-yellow paper.

“Can I add a card, too?” Donghyuck asks, voice barely audible.

Mark smiles. “Sure, we only have plain white cards in stock right now, is that okay?”

Donghyuck nods.

“What would you like for it to say?” Mark asks, pulling out a small rectangle of cardstock from a box placed underneath the counter.

“Um. Can you write “I’m sorry”?”

Mark glances up at him. “Sure. Who is this for?”

Donghyuck bites his lip. The _“I’d like to just leave that part blank,”_  that he mentally prepared gets caught on his tongue, so he just blinks nervously and says, “My ex-boyfriend.”

Mark pauses.

His eyebrows scrunch together for a moment, and it’s short, but obvious enough for Donghyuck to see it. He feels his heart drop to his stomach. Mark forces a small smile onto his face after a second but it clearly doesn’t reach his eyes.

“What’s his name?” he asks. There’s a subtle strain to his voice that feels like a punch to Donghyuck’s gut.

“J-Jeno.”

Mark grips the pen in his hand a little tighter, writes, _To Jeno_. Then he asks, “And your name is?”

“Donghyuck.”

 

 

  
Donghyuck takes the bus and walks the rest of the distance to Jeno’s apartment. When he reaches the door numbered 428, he leans the bouquet up against the wall next to it. There’s a small window with no curtain covering it from the inside, so he takes a moment to contemplate whether or not to invade Jeno’s privacy before leaning over and chancing a peek into it.

From what he can see, Jeno is slumped over on his couch with the t.v. turned on. Donghyuck dully notices the empty beer bottles sitting on the table in front of him. It’s dark, and Jeno is turned mostly away from the front door, away from Donghyuck, but Donghyuck can make out the tremor in the outline of his shoulders.

_I really am sorry,_ he thinks, before turning away and walking towards the stairs.

 

 

“I’m going to the café with Chenle,” Jisung announces as he enters the living room. Donghyuck nods from where he’s sitting at the table, flipping through his newly-bought planner and reveling in its smooth pages. “Wanna come with?”

/

Donghyuck doesn’t mind third wheeling. He takes small bites of his croissant and looks around as Jisung and Chenle talk animatedly to each other from across the booth.

“Oh, right, it’s my sister’s birthday in two days,” Chenle remembers aloud. “Can we stop by the flower shop on our way back? The one next to where Xuxi-hyung works?”

“Sure,” Jisung grins softly and lets Chenle have a sip of his frappuccino. “Is that okay with you, hyung?”

“Yeah,” Donghyuck lies.

 

 

Donghyuck stays outside as Chenle and Jisung enter the flower shop. _(“It’s fine, I’ll stay out here.”, Jisung had given him a weird look.)_ He only somewhat regrets his decision as he takes a seat on a bench and stubbornly shivers from the cold.

He’s waited for about ten minutes when Jisung walks out from the shop and tugs on his arm. “We need a third opinion. Chenle wants to get his sister daisies, but I think peonies will be better. Come on, he told me to come get you.”

Donghyuck opens his mouth to protest, but Jisung drags him up and pushes him towards the entrance all too quickly. He holds his breath as he enters the shop, the scent of roses and lilacs hitting him the second he tumbles inside. He keeps his eyes trained downwards.

“Hey, hyung, what do you think—“

Mark clears his throat from where he’s standing behind the counter. Donghyuck suppresses a flinch. He doesn’t look up.

“Daisies,” he blurts out, quickly, and flees.

  
/

  
“Hey, hyung? You okay?” Jisung knocks on his bedroom door softly. Donghyuck doesn’t answer.

  
/

  
Donghyuck ends up visiting the shop again.

His mom had called him and asked him to get a vase of orchids for his aunt since she had recently remarried and moved into a new house. _“As a housewarming gift,”_ his mother had said sweetly.

He was originally planning on going to the market near his and Jisung’s apartment that had a florist, but there were no more orchids in stock.

“Can’t we get her something else? Like a vacuum or something?” Donghyuck had asked his mom, desperately trying to reason with her on the phone as he swallowed back tears.

“Oh, but sweetheart, she _loves_ orchids.”

 

 

“Welcome—in…,” Mark’s voice drifts through the shop as Donghyuck steps inside. His hands are trembling, so he shoves them deep into his coat pockets.

There are a couple of people looking around, picking up and smelling the flowers in the shop. Donghyuck’s eyes dart around the room hurriedly in search of orchids. He pulls his hands out of his pockets and rings them together, ignoring the low, insistent buzzing in his ears.

After what feels like an eternity, he spots a vase of bright purple moth orchids hidden behind a basket on a shelf. The plant is a bit smaller than he’d like, but he really can’t get himself to care at the moment. He rushes towards it, reaching forward and wrapping his hands around its glossy white vase. He lifts it up just as someone speaks up from behind him.

“Hey—“

_Shit._ Donghyuck almost drops the vase. Instead, he sets it back down onto the shelf with increasingly shaking hands. He mutters to himself to _get it together_ , he’s not about to have a panic attack in the middle of a store full of fucking flowers, and _definitely_ not in front of this guy. Mark gives him a strange look, and Donghyuck can sense it without even fully seeing it. It makes his anxiety spike like a fucking rocket.

Lost at what to say, Donghyuck sucks in a tight breath. “I..I’m looking for orchids for my aunt,” he manages to murmur, loud enough for the other to hear, tearing his eyes away from where he was staring at Mark’s shoulder.

 

Then he passes out.

 

 

 

Donghyuck wakes up feeling warm. He breathes in deeply and shifts underneath the thick blanket that’s covering him, pressing his face into the soft fabric of his pillow. It smells, very faintly, of vanilla.

He lies like that for a couple of minutes, just breathing, when he realizes with a rough jolt that he’s not in his own bed.

Heartbeat quickening, he starts to feel around his surroundings. He’s lying on top of an electric blanket, and underneath it is hard wooden floor. His coat is folded neatly on top of said floor less than a foot or so away from him. _What? Where am I—_

He was at the flower shop. Looking for orchids. For his aunt who remarried. Then he panicked. And he _fainted?_

Donghyuck scrambles onto his knees. It’s fairly dark, but there’s a sliver of light coming in from the opposite side of the door. It smells like grass and flowers.

He’s sitting there, confused and ready to start panicking again at any given moment, when the door cracks open.

Donghyuck’s heart stops.

He watches as the door gets pushed open further, and someone steps inside.

It’s him.

“You’re awake,” he says, voice falling slightly flat.

Donghyuck doesn’t say anything. He kind of can’t bring himself to at the moment.

“You scared the shit out of me, by the way. I was about to call an ambulance or something. You also don’t have a cellphone on you, I checked, which is inconvenient. You should carry one around with you.”

Donghyuck stares at the guy’s limp hand, refusing to look at his face, and nods numbly.

His phone is sitting in his back pocket.

He can feel its weight, so he knows it’s there. Something about that brings a bitter taste to his mouth.

“I’ll get going now,” Donghyuck discloses carefully as he moves to stand up.

“I mean, are you okay? Do you need to call someone? I can let you use the store phone,” the guy offers. His words seem kind, but the way his voice sounds, almost like he’s devoid of any emotion, makes Donghyuck feel like he’s being slapped in the face with every spoken word.

“No,” he voices as firmly as he can. “I’m fine. I’ll leave now.”

He gently pushes past the guy, ignoring the split-second whiff he gets of his scent. He smells like grass, first of all, but he also smells like vanilla. Donghyuck resists the urge to throw up on his way out of the shop.

He takes a taxi home.

 

 

“Hyung, are you okay? Where have you been?” Jisung asks him when he steps inside of their apartment. It’s nearly eleven p.m.. Jisung is on facetime with Chenle with his earphones in and has a textbook open on the table.

“I’m fine. I just need some water,” he croaks, every bit untruthful. He shrugs off his coat and walks to his room to set it on top of his bed, then walks back out to pour himself a glass of water in the kitchen.

“I think I’m gonna go to bed now, Jisung. Tell Chenle I said hi.”

“Hey hyung!” Chenle’s voice blasts through the speaker the moment Jisung unplugs his earbuds. Jisung flinches back and presses his volume-down button rapidly. Donghyuck smiles, but the action triggers a crying spell, and he quickly makes his way back to his room before Jisung gets the chance to see his tears fall.

That night, he dreams of drowning in sand.

 

 

  
He doesn’t go back to the shop.

He actually goes out of his way to avoid even seeing the small section of building named _Simp-Lee Floral,_ tucked in-between a feminist clothing boutique and the family-owned Chinese restaurant that Yukhei works at.

Time passes by as he focuses more on starting and finishing assignments, spending an increased amount of late nights staying up and typing research essays on the couch. He always ends up falling asleep with his face smushed between the cushions.

Over the span of four months, he succeeds in pushing the thought of the flower shop employee to the back of his mind. He becomes nothing but a fleeting thought that Donghyuck has every once in a while.

He starts going out with his friends more, continues to join Jisung and Chenle on their dates, and finds himself having a better-than-bad time. He starts to recover. He starts to feel better. _Lighter_.

And then it all comes crashing down.

  
It’s a figurative statement, but in this moment, it feels very fucking literal to Donghyuck.

  
Donghyuck is sitting at a table in a nice restaurant, having a meal with one of his old friends from high school. He’s twisting his fork in his pasta, smiling at something they said, when he notices something.

There’s a guy, sitting two tables in front of them with his back facing Donghyuck.

And he’s wearing a jacket.

Specifically, the jacket that Donghyuck had altered and given to Jeno as a present during their senior year of high school. The one that literally has the words _I love you_  hand-stitched into the lining of its right pocket.

But the guy isn’t Jeno.

And then Jeno, _actual_ Jeno, his ex-boyfriend of three years, walks into the restaurant and sits right across from the guy wearing his jacket. He doesn’t notice Donghyuck.

But Donghyuck is staring at him. He can’t take his eyes off of him. Because Jeno is smiling. _Really_ smiling, with his eyes shaped into crescent moons. Donghyuck feels a hard pang in his chest.

Then Jeno leans forward and kisses the guy on the mouth, and Donghyuck excuses himself to go to the bathroom.

 

 

_I’m really sorry I had to cut our dinner short tonight, my roommate Jisung lost his keys_ (a lie) _and I had to help him get inside of our apartment_ (another lie stemmed from that one), Donghyuck types into the text box before hitting send.

He sighs and leans his head against the bus’ window. He wants to feel sad, and he did at first, but he doesn’t anymore. He feels a little weird, but mainly, he’s relieved that Jeno was able to move on. And glad that he seemed a lot happier than he did when Donghyuck last saw him inside of his apartment.

Thus, Donghyuck takes this moment to decide to forget about how his and Jeno’s relationship had ended on a bad note. He decides to let everything go, and be content with how things have turned out for the both of them in their (unfortunately) separate lives.

So that’s why it’s like an utter joke when the bus makes a stop not even ten minutes away from the stop in front of Donghyuck’s apartment complex. And _he_ gets on.

 

Donghyuck gets hit with images of purple petals.

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> PLEASE let me know how you’re enjoying this so far (or if you’re not - and for what reasons!) i really do appreciate your comments and feedback.
> 
> also i’m uploading this at 5:23 a.m. so if i’ve missed any grammatical mistakes...please lmk and i’ll fix them. pls forgive hdhsj
> 
> tumblr: lgbtnana <3


	2. ii.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> now introducing,, yukhei!
> 
> update: title change*

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

 

The guy doesn’t notice Donghyuck, who’s sitting in the back of the previously-vacant (besides him) bus. Donghyuck gradually releases the breath that got caught in his chest and folds his hands together. He prays that the guy doesn’t turn around during the following seven minutes it’ll take to reach Donghyuck’s stop. Thankfully, he’s seated near the front with his earbuds in.

Six minutes pass by and Donghyuck’s eyes never leave the back of his head. He tries to be subtle about it for the sake of his own dignity, but the guy stays facing forward the entire time, to Donghyuck’s relief and surprise.

Soon enough, they pass by the brightly-lit cosmetics shop, Mcdonald’s, and vacant playground that Donghyuck is so familiar with seeing on his way home. He nearly gasps in joy when his stop comes into view.

The bus slows to a halt. Donghyuck gets up and grabs his bag, slinging it over his shoulder. He begins to walk forward quickly, pulse racing, and looks straight ahead as he approaches _his_ seat. 

His right thigh cramps a little with each step, and he’s steadily starting to develop a headache, but he manages to make it past the other smoothly. He breathes out in relief. 

_Okay, good. Just two more seconds before I can fully escape_ —he _thinks,_ subtly scurrying towards the exit, when the guy grabs him by his wrist and stops him. Donghyuck blanches.

His whole body whips around in shock. “What the—?”

The guy is staring at his face—eyes wide, mouth open, the deal. One of his earbuds is dangling in the air and he's standing up. Donghyuck stares back at him incredulously. That’s when he realizes that they’ve both dyed their hair a different color since the last time they’ve seen each other. Donghyuck’s hair, albeit a bit faded, is a light orange, and the guy’s hair is bleached blonde under his beanie. 

_It looks kind of good,_ he thinks absently, but quickly shoves the thought away.

“—Yes?” he forces out. His voice suffers a slight crack.

“You…” the guy starts, still holding onto Donghyuck’s wrist. Donghyuck refrains from ripping it out of his hold. He doesn’t really have the courage to, anyway.

He stands and waits for the other to continue, somehow getting himself to seem calm, when in reality he’s about to start freaking out because he needs to _get off the bus now_ before he misses his stop.

“What?” he questions, impatience bleeding through his tone in a way that surprises himself. He blinks slowly, squaring his shoulders back. The guy looks slightly taken aback.

“I, um—nevermind,” he finishes quickly, and lets go of Donghyuck’s wrist. “You can get off.”

Donghyuck thinks he hears a muttered ‘sorry’ after, but disregards it and leaves without another word.

 

 

 

A week and a half trails by. Donghyuck is eating Thai takeout with Jisung in their living room, watching t.v. with the volume turned down. Jisung has been silent for the majority of their meal, and Donghyuck doesn’t mind it at all, but it’s so unlike the younger to not say anything for a span of more than four minutes. It’s been half an hour. 

Donghyuck speaks up. “Is something wrong?” he asks, gently nudging Jisung’s knee with his leg. The younger startles slightly and looks up from where he’s been staring at a blank space on the wall.

“Huh? Oh, no,” he says, pausing to clear his throat. “Everything’s fine, hyung.” His expression says otherwise.

“You’re a bad liar,” Donghyuck sighs as he sets his box of takeout down on the table. “You can tell me if something’s wrong, Jisung.”

Jisung fumbles with his chopsticks for a moment, eyes trained on his half-eaten curry. It takes him some time, but he eventually opens his mouth to say, “I saw Jeno-hyung today.” He pauses to gauge Donghyuck’s reaction before continuing. “He was with someone. Renjun-hyung. He’s close friends with Chenle, I’ve told you about him before. He tutored me when I was in middle school and we still see each other sometimes.” 

Jisung shifts on the couch uncomfortably. “I think they’re dating.”

Oh. Well he kind of knew that already. He just didn’t know it was Renjun.

“I saw them too,” Donghyuck starts. “When I was out having dinner not too long ago. I’m happy for him,” he admits truthfully. “It’s okay, Ji. He deserves someone.”

Jisung looks at him in shock. The ‘o’ shape of his mouth shyly gives into a small smile, and he nods in understanding. They finish up their food and Donghyuck stays in the living room with Jisung until midnight, watching the younger play video games while he thinks silently to himself.

 

 

At the end of May, Donghyuck’s second semester of his second year of college comes to an end, and his summer break begins.

As expected, Chenle comes crashing into their apartment (literally, crashing) at eight p.m. screaming _party!!!_ at the top of his lungs. He promptly launches himself at Jisung when he spots the younger, and Jisung barely has a second to blindly fling his phone onto the couch before catching his boyfriend in his arms.

“We’re going to meet up with some friends at Neo to drink, you wanna come, hyung?” Chenle asks Donghyuck while latched onto Jisung like a koala. _Please come,_ he mouths with a pout.

Donghyuck shrugs. “I guess. But how are we going to get in if we’re not twenty-one?” He fixes Chenle with a curious stare.

“Oh, they rarely check I.D. at the door. Plus, I know people there,” Chenle says, like it’s obvious. “Besides...I don’t think that’ll be your biggest problem tonight,” the younger says vaguely. Jisung clears his throat.

“It’s okay, Le. Hyung knows. About Renjun, and...Jeno,” Jisung murmurs, face buried against Chenle’s shoulder. His arms are starting to ache.

Donghyuck blinks. “Oh, they’re going to be there?”

“We don’t know for sure yet, ‘cause they said they might just stay at Jeno-hyung’s,” Chenle informs him.

“Okay. Well, that’s fine,” Donghyuck replies easily and makes his way to his room to start getting ready.

/

It takes him half an hour to brush his teeth, fix his hair, change into an outfit, and switch his earrings out for a different pair. He walks out into the living room dressed in a dark long-sleeve shirt and jeans, with his messenger bag slung over his shoulder containing his wallet and phone. Jisung and Chenle give him their thumbs-up of approval.

“Let’s get going! Party time!” Chenle shouts excitedly, and Donghyuck reaches over the counter to grab his keys.

 

 

They get into the club easily enough, and a worker escorts them to a round booth in the corner of the room. Chenle thanks them with a sweet smile.

“Ji, come on, let’s get drinks,” he says as he tugs on Jisung’s sleeve. Donghyuck cocks his head to the side.

“What if they card you?” he asks.

Chenle shakes his head. “Don’t worry about it, hyung! I told you, I know people. Now what do you want to start off with? Shots?” Chenle giggles.

“Just get me a mimosa. Two-thirds _oj_. And don’t get kicked out.” Donghyuck waves them off and takes a seat inside of the booth. 

He waits for about fifteen minutes, looking around and checking out recent news articles on his phone. He’s in the middle of checking his twitter feed when Chenle and Jisung come back with drinks in their hands. 

Not too long after they start drinking, Chenle gets up and waves his arm a bit frantically at somebody in the crowd. A tall guy comes jogging over seconds later and joins them at their booth. It’s the first time that Donghyuck is seeing him.

“What’s up, Jaemin-hyung?” Chenle greets him and gives him a tight hug. Jisung offers him a friendly wave and the guy, Jaemin, reciprocates it. 

“Hey, guys,” he says, and turns to face Donghyuck with a pretty smile. Oh, wow. He’s handsome. Donghyuck bows his head slightly.

“Nice to meet you. I’m Donghyuck.”

“Oh, right, I’ve heard a lot about you,” Jaemin responds kindly and takes a seat across from him. “From what I’ve heard, you’re a total superstar. These two mention you all the time, tell me you’re a much better hyung to them than I am,” he claims with a laugh.

“Ugh, Jaemin-hyung, stop teasing,” Chenle complains, rolling his eyes dramatically. Then his phone dings. “Oh! I just got a text from Xuxi-hyung. He says he’s here but he can’t find us…” Chenle stands up from his seat and starts searching the crowd, squinting his eyes to see better. Donghyuck watches as he locks eyes with someone from across the room and lights up. “Hey! Over here!”

Yukhei stumbles to their table seconds later, breathless and sporting a wide smile. “Hey everyone!” he greets, and politely asks Donghyuck if he can sit beside him. Donghyuck smiles and scoots over to give him space. He likes Yukhei, the older has a bright and kind personality that Donghyuck admires.

Yukhei takes a seat and apologizes when their knees knock together. Donghyuck just shakes his head, murmuring _it’s okay_ with a smile. From across the table, Jaemin’s already downing his second shot and Chenle is verbally rooting him on, pumping his fist in the air.

/

An hour passes by fairly quickly. Jaemin and Jisung spend most of it on the dance floor, Chenle too buzzed to really stay balanced on his feet for too long. He stays at the booth with Donghyuck and Yukhei. 

Yukhei also gets up to dance at one point, but he turns out to be a _horrible_ dancer. Donghyuck watches him amusedly as he rolls his hips, entirely off-beat to the song that’s playing, and then bumps into someone and nearly knocks their drink over. He almost cries from laughter when Yukhei bows and apologizes to the stranger, looking completely mortified. Yukhei looks over afterwards and catches him laughing at him. He sends him a sheepish smile. It’s a little endearing.

Shyly, he makes his way back to the booth and slides into his seat next to Donghyuck. He then proceeds to down more drinks like they’re water and play games on his phone, pausing every once in a while to talk to Donghyuck about life and work and his family’s pet dog. (He seems to be a heavyweight, unlike Chenle, who’s fucked up from four shots of whatever it is he’s been drinking.)

Donghyuck only has two drinks within the hour and they’re not strong, as he’s not really in the mood to be tipsy just yet.

He’s having a casual conversation with Yukhei about their summer plans when someone approaches their booth.

Two people. 

Jeno and Renjun.

“Oh my god, you guys _came!_ ” Chenle cries and throws his arms around the both of them. Jeno’s eyes crinkle up in a smile and Renjun hugs Chenle back, giving his arm a gentle squeeze.

“Hi, honey,” Renjun greets the younger sweetly. His voice is soft and full of endearment.

Donghyuck tenses. 

He was anticipating this moment, he tells himself. _You agreed not to make it a big deal._

He watches the three of them, silently waiting for Jeno to make eye contact with him or to notice him. Seeing him this up-close after so long is a bit unsettling, now that they’re in a setting in which they’re expected to interact. It’s been a while since they’ve last seen each other, not including the time at the restaurant.

He breathes in deeply, slowly, and exhales. He’s unconsciously pressing his blunt fingernails into his thigh through his jeans, not fully realizing what he’s doing until Yukhei fits a gentle hand over his own to stop him. Donghyuck glances down in surprise.

Yukhei’s palm is large and warm. His long fingers curl over Donghyuck’s shorter ones, a gentle but firm _don’t._ He feels his neck heat up. He tilts his head up to look at Yukhei, but ends up making eye contact with Jeno instead.

He panics for a split-second. 

“Hey,” he mouths, silently. Jeno sees it and visibly hesitates. He continues to look conflicted for a long moment, but eventually gives Donghyuck a cautious micro-smile back. It’s awkward, but Donghyuck will take it.

“You must be Donghyuck.” Renjun faces him then. He sticks his hand out politely, wearing a sincere smile. Donghyuck freezes for moment before removing his hand from Yukhei’s grasp. It hovers in the air shortly before thrusting forward and shaking Renjun’s hand.

“It’s nice to meet you,” he says, voice coming out surprisingly stable. He chances a polite smile. 

Renjun nods, smile widening. Yukhei’s hand is resting comfortably on his knee now. Chenle whispers something to Jeno with a smile, and Donghyuck can hear Jaemin hollering _“Go, Jisungie, go!”_ on the dance floor. 

Donghyuck takes all of these things into account, and thinks, carefully, that things might be better now.

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so this work might turn out to be a bit longer than i'd originally planned. generally, each chapter will range from 2000 ~ 2000+ words — they’re a little shorter now because i'm still figuring out how much i want to include in each part (or, more accurately, how much i'm willing to _write_ ) more so as the story develops. i'm still finding inspiration for this fic so bare with me! <3


End file.
